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Poll Power

Elected officials from Northern Manhattan joined together to call on the immigrant community to exercise its right to vote in a demonstration of electoral strength.

At a press conference outside Holyrood Church on Mon., Sept. 11th, on the eve of primary elections, City Councilmember Ydanis Rodríguez, State Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa and State Senator Marisol Alcántara said it was important for registered immigrant voters to get to the polls during a time when immigrant communities were seemingly under attack after the repeal of DACA and an increase in ICE raids.

The general election is to be held on November 7th, 2017.

According to the American Immigration Council, an advocacy non-profit organization, immigrants and the children of immigrants, which the group labels “New Americans,” account for 23.9% of all registered voters in the state.

“We are an immigrant city,” said Councilmember Ydanis Rodríguez.

“Civic participation in our communities is of paramount importance,” said De La Rosa. “We know that if we want to see governments that represent our communities, we must come out and vote.”

Rodríguez, who is running for re-election to represent the 10th Council District, said that regardless of which candidate people chose, a strong immigrant turnout at the primary election would “send a message” about the political strength that lies within immigrant communities.

Noting that many immigrants are unable to vote themselves, Rodríguez implored “allies who are in solidarity with the immigrant community to vote in the name of immigrants.”

“The people who are now taking the street, fighting for immigrant reform, they know we are an immigrant society, an immigrant city,” he added.

The officials also underscored a number of initiatives they said would help boost voting.

Rodríguez said the City Council intended to put more funding into programs involving voter registration for immigrants, while De La Rosa remarked that she supported legislation on a state level that would help get more people to vote, such as early voting and same-day registration.

“There’s been conversations around online voter registration, making those processes easier in our state,” De La Rosa said. “We have to make the hurdles of bureaucracy a little easier for people to be able to get in the door, register to vote, and exercise that right.”

“We must come out and vote,” said State Assemblymember Carmen De La Rosa.

Angela Fernández, Executive Director of the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights (NMCIR), suggested that Latinos should be registered to vote on their 18th birthday.

“We get those 18-year-olds registered to vote on their birthday, and that will help and go a long way for our community to get represented,” she remarked.

Alcántara, who is the first woman of Dominican descent to serve in the State Senate, said that in addition to voting opportunities, it was important to ensure that immigrant and minority candidates ran for office.

“It’s also making our city and state government reflective of the population of the state of New York,” she said. “People in New York like to talk about how New York is so progressive, but we also have to do the work [and get involved].”

To find your polling place and for more information, please visit the Board of Elections site at vote.nyc.ny.us or call its offices at212.487.5400.